Haazinu
Reflection by Michal Zamir, the Or HaLev team
"Ha`Azinu, the name of this week's parsha, means listen. There is almost no need to add words. Things are alive and simple. This is the heart of the matter; just listen, you have all been attentive to the singing of life, to the beating heart, to the soul and to the breath. Poetry is not always fully understood, it is filled with the mystery of God, but it has empty spaces that allow even the most distant person to find a connection point. The poetry of this week's parsha moves through the life cycle of Israel – the infinite love of God, and the abundance that is influenced by the people, so much abundance that `So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked` (Deut 32:15). Israel's turning its back on God and turning to idols leads to terrible consequences. And after, God's consolation and mercy on the people, redemption and the people's entry into God's power.
The verse that closes the poem catches my attention –`For this is not a trifling thing for you: it is your very life; through it you shall long endure` (Deut 32:47)
The Torah is not an empty thing, it is full, but with what? After long portions of commandments, and commandments, strict laws and terrible punishments for those who break them, we are exposed to a double danger - when we codify law, when we engrave it into stone, we can forget the river of life, our inner compass, our moral anchors floating in the foam of the river.
Our practice, then, is to keep ourselves in the middle way, not to fall into the abyss on either side. The Torah is full of life – both rocks and rivers, within which we are asked to navigate. And how can we do that? We can listen very attentively - to ourselves, to those around us. This word connotes something much larger than just the sense of hearing. 'Listen,' unlike 'see,' is a verb that seeks an honest observation of reality as it is, without misrepresentation, without idols, illusions or delusions. 'Listen' is different from 'hear', a verb that expresses attention with the intention to act and choose each time the good from walking along the road. Just before Moshe finally parts, he asks us to 'listen'. Maybe if we really listen, we can break the cycle of suffering.
May we have a happy new year, a year of liberation from suffering, a year of listening.“